La Petite Ardoise

This restaurant was an old favorite of my family's whenever we visited Fontainebleau. We always stopped here at least once in our visits to France. However, our latest visit was disappointing. It seems that the critical reviews here are correct in their assessment that the quality has dropped. The menu has become uninspired compared to the past. Nothing was actually terrible, but it was all very mediocre and we did not feel we got our money's worth. While my goat cheese entrée was alright, I tried the scallops and they were very bland and also not hot at all. My beef sirloin was also a little on the bland side. The shortbread dessert was also just okay with no real strong flavors. None of the food had that good home-made taste the restaurant used to have. We received good and attentive service at least. However, I just can't really recommend this restaurant as there are so many other better options in the area.

We have tried rare cooked "Beef Sirloin", well done "Beef Sirloin", "Risotto with mushrooms", "Gourmand Salad", "Scallops". They were all very tasty, but I need to mention that rare done "Beef Sirloin" is the most delicious rare done beef I have ever tried in my life. And "Pear" desert was fantastic, too. We also had wine "Volage" (Cabernet Franc). It was very delicious. The staff was very nice and attentive. Thank you for everything.

Quick stop for lunch as we're visiting the château. We both took the menu formule 39 euros. I had the scallops and stuffed chicken with mushroom sauce. My friend had the escargot and risotto. We thought the risotto was slightly on the liquidy side, watery. But all other dishes we've had were good and tasty! A quaint restaurant and its decor. People working there also very nice 👍

Visited in late November with another person who thankfully speaks fluent French. Most of the staff seemed not to speak English. I ordered the escargot (very good in a creamy soup), duck, and the chocolate cake. My friend ordered something similar except for dessert they ordered the pear. Everything tasted great and the service was friendly.

Great service and amazing food! One of the best places to test the local cuisine in Fontainebleau! Do not miss it!

Very much baffled at the high reviews. Nice personel, great atmosphere, but the food is what one would expect out of a student's kitchen, not a French restaurant. I ordered a medium-rare beef sirloin with fries (why I cannot have both vegetables and fries with my order and have to pay extra is beyond me) and a cabernet. The fries were good, the wine was excellent, the piece of beef, however, was full of tendons, very, very rare, and cooked with nothing but parsley and no more than 2 salt crystals (as far as I could taste). There was also too little sauce to go with it. For dessert I had the tiramisu. The taste wasn't bad, simply because mascarpone is tasty, but again, this was a student level dish: too much cream (because that is of course cheaper than mascarpone), cheap supermarket cacao (what you would make milk drinks with), cheap supermarket biscuits, no egg yolk or egg white (because you're not going to feed raw eggs to people and because heating them au bain marie is too advanced), and worst of all, zero trace of any liquor being used. All in all it was disappointing. Would not recommend.

I don't understand all the good reviews? My meal was subpar from entree through to dessert. Maybe I showed up when the chef was having a bad night? Do not recommend.

If I could give it 6 stars I would. The owner was incredibly friendly and guided us through the menu and wines. The food was all really great. His English was also excellent. Between the three of us we had the Snails, Scallops and Goats Cheese starters all wonderful. Mains were two of the fish of the day and a steak. Yet again all really good. Deserts were a shortbread dish, chocolate cake and Tiramisu. Again all so good. Drinks were a great local pale ale, white Bordeaux wine and a bottle of Pinot Noir that were all recommended and really complemented the meal. Sorry for all the superlatives but they really don’t do it justice.

Not so small as it were maybe, anyway no problem getting a reservation a few hours before dinner. Duck was rare but excellent, although the fat was not crispy enough and was left uneaten. The lamb shank superb. I loved the poached pear, but didn't eat the dryish French toast - anyway it's too filling for dessert after the yummy and opulent main courses